Washington Muslims Show True Islam - Many Attend

* More Muslims live in Asia than in the Middle East.
* Indonesia is number one in Muslim population in the world, not Saudi Arabia or even the entire gulf.
* Violent extremism is against true Islam
* Actual number of militant extremists is less than half of one percent of the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world
* Women in Islam have rights for 1,400 years, that are only just now being realized in the west (like voting, owning property and having the right to seek divorce )
* Muslims firmly believe in the miracle birth of Christ Jesus and they even say "Peace be upon him" when he is mentioned
* Neighbors are to be fed and cared for even if they are not Muslims, or even if they don't like you for that matter.




Here is what the news article written by Sara Schilling in the Tricityherald a local paper had to say about the event --

A community forum on Islam that drew nearly 200 people. The event at Tri-Tech Skills Center in Kennewick was aimed at educating the public about what Muslims really believe and opening up dialogue, said organizer Sabiha Khan.

"The only way we can resolve problems and misunderstandings is through dialogue," said Khan, a history teacher in Kennewick.

The event was co-sponsored by World Citizens for Peace and Mid-Columbia Community for Change.

It lasted more than two hours and started with a viewing of the new documentary Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think. There also was a panel discussion featuring several Tri-City Muslims and a question-and-answer session.

"I think it's a great way of shedding light," said Darcy Carrick, 17, a high school senior in Kennewick.

The documentary from Unity Productions Foundation centered on polling data collected by Gallup researches. The researchers asked Muslims around the world about everything from their attitudes toward the U.S. to their thoughts about the place of women in society, to their feelings on terrorism.

They found that Muslim and Western values aren't so far apart, and that when Muslims around the world feel negatively about the U.S., it has more to do with foreign policy than Americans' culture and way of life.

Most Muslims value ideas like free speech and reject terrorism. For those relatively few Muslims who are militants, the motivations are political not religious, the research found.

Sharing the real beliefs of ordinary Muslims around the world is important because "it's only through the voices of ordinary people that we can engage the world through facts, not fear," said Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim studies, in the film.

During the Kennewick forum, Tarik Dillsi, an engineer, said that the top concerns of Muslims he knows in other countries are the welfare and education of their children, the well-being of their families, their careers, their communities.

"If you think about it, that's really what we think about in this country too," he said.

Members of the panel said a good place to start bridging the differences between the Muslim and Western worlds is to have conversations, to learn and try to understand.

The panelists spoke for at least an hour, fielding questions on everything from their thoughts on solving terrorism to how they feel about Christmas.

So many people attended the forum that an overflow room was set up. The audience was a mix of age groups, from teenagers leaning over notebooks to older people with canes and gray hair.

Kevin Moran, 17, a high school junior in Kennewick, said he took away a lot from the event.

"I learned that you shouldn't judge people by their religion," he said. "You should try to understand them more."

-- Sara Schilling: 582-1402; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.